At the age of 55, he decided it was an ideal time to begin long-distance cycling. He started with two 500-mile trips before his sons encouraged him to compete in a triathlon. From there his adventures with his bicycle began. He has participated in about a 24 different competition events involving biking.

“I was looking for something different and biking became that outlet,” Smith said.

In 2007, he started his longest journey. From San Diego, Calif. to St. Augustine, Fla., Smith along with 10 other people biked across America in 53 days.

“I always had an itch to do something adventurous and different,” Smith said. “My favorite thing wasn’t biking across America… it was seeing America by bike.”

A total of 3,588 miles with a rest day every seven days, Smith made it without experiencing the difficulties others had. He never had to change a flat tire. While 11 people started the trip, only seven made it to the final destination.

“The most challenging part of the trip was facing headwinds and the altitude in New Mexico,” he said. “It is a myth that the East does not experience headwinds.”

Smith accomplished the tradition of dipping his bicycle tire in the Pacific Ocean and successfully making it to the Atlantic Ocean despite the heat of the Texas desert and sleeping in a leaky tent along the way.

When his son, Todd Smith, 35, mentioned a father-son biking trip, he was ready for another adventure. In December, the two biked 595 miles in Vietnam.

It was bittersweet for Tom. As a man who served with the Marine Corp during Vietnam, he was uneasy to return to the country.

“I was excited about spending time with my son, but wary about going back there,” he said.

The father and son duo experienced the culture for three and half weeks as they traveled with a Vietnamese guide. Crossing bridges made of trees and seeing the work of the rice fields, Tom and Todd saw the difficulties the locals faced firsthand.

Embracing the culture, the two took time to help in the fields, make pottery and even learn how to weave. Biking in Vietnam was a new experience for Todd.

“I did some research on Vietnam and it looked like bike-friendly place and thought it would be pretty far out for us to try, it was the first trip we’ve done internationally,” Todd Smith said. “And of course, he went to war there, so I wanted to see if he was up for it. The best part was spending one-on-one time with my dad and talking about things we normally wouldn’t have the chance to talk about.”

For Tom, the trip was a look back in time. He met Vietnamese soldiers who toasted to their service.

“I was apprehensive about it, but it was a nice gesture,” Tom said.

From white-water rafting to triathlons, Tom loves the outdoors and shares it with his wife, Catherine. The two have camped under the stars, visited the Grand Canyon, hiked and much more.

The couple moved from Illinois to Riverbend in 2010. After four years of searching and considering moving to Arizona or Hawaii, they took one last look at buying in the South.

“I wasn’t looking for a retirement community, but when we visited and saw the many amenities, it was the better value,” he said.

While he doesn’t have any future biking adventures planned, he continues his daily routine of biking five to six miles around Sun City. The next journey could be the bike across Thailand, he said.

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